Acrobatic dancing has
been part of Indian performing arts for as long as can be remembered, with
spectacular examples recorded in almost every region of the subcontinent
(for example, dollu kunitha of Karnataka, bandha nrutya and
danda nata of Orissa, some of the Manipuri dances and so on)
('Dancing ancient texts and temple
sculptures' by Alessandra Lopez y Royo)

The work 'Mridanga Sangraha'
is attributed to Chandrakirti and contains extremely valuable details of
playing the particular variety of drum called the khol in Manipuri. The
other treatise, 'Sri Krishna Rasa Sangita Sangraha' by Bhakti Sidhanta
was written earlier than the Mridanga Sangrha, it contains many of the
lyrics to which the rasa dancers are performed today.

Chitra Visweswaran's
mother was a dancer of Rabindra Nritya. Chitra's first lessons were in
ballet when she was 3 in London. Later she learnt Manipuri and Kathak and
Bharatanatyam from T A Rajalakshmi.